STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Sterling Energy up on drilling update

Shares in Sterling Energy (SEY.L) gain 3.7 percent after the oil and gas company says it is on track to begin drilling the Sangaw North prospect in Kurdistan in the second half of December, prompting Evolution Securities to repeat its "buy" rating.

"Sterling offers substantial upside through the drilling of the large, low risk Sangaw North prospect in Kurdistan," says the broker in a note.

Evolution notes the success rate of western companies' exploration drilling "in this geological trend in Kurdistan is very high" and says experts have expressed that "Sangaw North is a very large, low risk exploration prospect".

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